Music of international renown on stage in Florence
This weekend’s inaugural Florence Fest at the Events Center is truly a blend of many different things. There are a dozen “hand-picked” boutique Oregon wineries, all offering a taste of their product. There’s a juried art show and sale; and several local restaurateurs offering up a series of “small plates”.
But, the centerpiece of the Wine, Art and Jazz festival is on stage. There are seven musical selections… three on Friday, four on Saturday. The closing artist on stage Saturday evening will be Halie Loren and her quintet. She’s performed on stage since she was ten years old. Her favorite musical style, she says, is jazz. But her show is much more than that.
Halie Loren – “At every show it’s a blend of quite a variety of things and it seems to be something that hopefully appeals to people with differing musical palates. So, it’s really fun for me and I hope it is fun for the people too.”
Advance ticket sales at $20 end today at noon… after that you can get them at the door for $25 per day. The Friday night headliner is Toni Glausi and his 9-piece Funk Band. Doors are open from two to eight Friday; Noon to eight Saturday.
Cold Weather Shelter closes for season
It’s no secret that the weather in our area can change from day to day and even from hour to hour. But it also can change radically from year to year.
This year, the Florence Emergency Cold Weather Shelter was open more than seven times the number of nights as last year.
In the winter of 2015-16 there were three nights when weather forecasts predicted overnight lows near freezing, prompting the opening of the shelter.
This year, it was opened a total of 22 nights and averaged 13 to 14 people each night it opened. Reverend Greg Wood, the President of the Shelter Board of Directors said on two of the coldest nights this season, they housed 28 and 24 guests.
Wood said operation of the shelter would not have been possible without what he called the “overwhelming support” of the community. Not only did dozens of volunteers staff the shelter at different churches, but businesses and organizations were generous with their help. Wood said all involved are “deeply appreciative” of the support. He looks forward to serving the Florence area again next winter.”
Additional lab layoffs for PeaceHealth
It’s not known how many jobs in Florence will be affected, but PeaceHealth announced this week that an additional 85 Oregon workers will be laid off.
Documents filed with the State of Oregon in February showed PeaceHealth planned to lay off 186 Oregon workers as the result of the sale of the health care provider’s laboratory operations to New Jersey based Quest Diagnostics.
At that time, only one of those 186 positions was in Florence and a PeaceHealth spokesman said that was a manager’s position that had been vacant for several months.
A statement issued by PeaceHealth Wednesday said the number of layoffs in Oregon will now be 271… of which most are in Lane County.
Yachats – Florence Connector
Proposed passenger transportation between Florence and Yachats will be discussed this afternoon at Florence City Hall.
Florence Associate Planner Glenn Southerland said the service is under consideration and a “stakeholder’s” meeting is planned at Florence City Hall at three pm. Southerland said they’re looking for feedback from the public and other interested parties.
A coastal Greyhound Bus Route used to run the entire length of the Oregon Coast, but that service ended more than a decade ago.
CCB lists “Bad Actors”
A new webpage rolled out recently by the Oregon Construction Contractor’s Board has a list of the top eight contractors in the state… It’s not a list of the top in terms of quality… but a list of the top offenders. “Bad actors” is the term used by Stan Jessup. He’s the enforcement manager for the CCB.
None of them are actually licensed to engage in contracting in Oregon; all of them owe a hefty amount to not only the state, but to their victims… homeowners and business property owners who have hired them to do work that was either never finished, or done poorly.
Jessup says a Portland man heads the “Buyers Beware” list… his name is Francisco Alvarez-Guerrero and he has racked up more than $100-thousand in fines for working without a license.
Jessup says if you’re doing any home improvement or contstruction project you should always check to be sure you’re working with someone who is registered with the CCB. That means they are insured and bonded in case something goes wrong. He says just go to the Oregon CCB website, click on “check licenses” and you can see the “Buyers Beware” list and check on the registration of anyone you might be doing business with.
